Keidanren chief calls for early Japan-US free trade agreement
Mainichi Daily News | 7 October 2010
Keidanren chief calls for early Japan-U.S. free trade agreement
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japanese business leader Hiromasa Yonekura on Thursday called for an early realization of the Japan-U.S. free trade agreement in remarks at the outset of the 47th annual Japan-U.S. Business Conference.
Yonekura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, the largest Japanese business lobby, known as Nippon Keidanren, is the Japanese chair of the two-day conference in Tokyo where Japanese and U.S. business leaders will adopt a joint statement urging Japan to take part in the existing four-nation trans-Pacific free trade agreement.
The United States has already offered to join the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement between Chile, Singapore, New Zealand and Brunei.
"We must take leadership in developing a new growth strategy for the Asia-Pacific region," Yonekura said.
The conference, co-chaired by Jean-Luc Butel, executive vice president of the United States’ Medtronic Inc., is dealing with such topics as the improvement of Japanese and U.S. business environments and Asia-Pacific economic cooperation.
